The AYSO Organization

The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) is a nationwide non-profit organization that develops and delivers quality youth soccer programs in a fun, family environment based on AYSO’s Six Philosophies.

Everyone Plays

Balanced Teams

Open Registration

Positive Coaching

Good Sportsmanship

Player Development

The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) was established in the Los Angeles area in 1964 with nine teams. It was the dream of a group of devoted soccer enthusiasts who started the organization in a garage. Today, AYSO has more than 50,000 teams and more than 650,000 players. It also employs 50 people at its National Support and Training Center in Hawthorne, California.

Over the years, AYSO has created many valuable programs and concepts. Most notably, AYSO revolutionized youth sports with its “Everyone Plays” and “Balanced Teams” philosophies. In AYSO, each child who registers is guaranteed to play at least half of every game. To help create evenly matched games, all AYSO players are placed on new or “balanced” teams each year. These decisions are made based on each player’s skill level and the overall ability of the team. You can access more information about our National organization at www.soccer.org.

AYSO Region 45

AYSO Region 45 is part of Area 2A which encompasses an area ranging from Portola Valley and Woodside to the north and Sunnyvale to the south. Area 2A is part of AYSO Section 2 which covers Northern California, most of Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

AYSO Region 45’s charter date is September 3rd, 1974. We believe a local soccer organization split into three geographic groups to become AYSO members and formed Region 43 covering North Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, Region 44 covering Sunnyvale and Region 45 covering Mountain View and South Los Altos. Today, Region 45 is an all-volunteer organization providing soccer for over 1,900 kids of all ages, run by some 600 volunteers.

The AYSO Team

AYSO is an organization devoted to child development in a soccer environment that is safe, fair, and fun. The kids are the focus of our program, and the program depends on the efforts of all involved adults for its success. Three groups of people, working together, form the AYSO Team, which creates the environment in which our children develop. Here’s a way to look at it:

The coaches are the foundation of the AYSO Team. They spend hours with the players every week, at practices and at the game, teaching them how to win, how to lose, how to work for an objective, how to cooperate, how to be a team, all through the vehicle of the game of soccer. In this way, they become role models for the players, and so influence the players’ values and behaviors.

The referees watch over the game, helping younger children with the rules and making sure that the game is safe and fair for all. The referees set the tone of the competition, protect the players throughout the match, and provide the necessary authority on game day.

The spectators support the players’ activities in a positive and encouraging way. They create the environment in which the players, coaches, and referees work. They also help to interpret the lessons of the game for the players after the match. When these three groups work together, they create the necessary environment for our children to develop through soccer. The triangle above represents that environment. It protects the players only as long as its three sides are firmly linked. If it comes apart at any corner, the triangle collapses, and it is the players inside who get hurt. Whatever role you play, keep the AYSO Team in mind. Remember, it’s for the kids!

AYSO Philosophy

Everyone Plays: Our goal is for kids to play soccer. So we mandate that every player on every team must play at least half of every game.

Balanced Teams: We set up teams as evenly balanced as possible – because it’s more fun when teams of equal ability play.

Positive Coaching: The way to make winning kids is by building them up, not down. We train and encourage our coaches to make the extra effort to understand and offer positive help to our players, rather than negative criticism.

Open Registration: Our programs are open to all children between the ages of 5 and 18 who want to register and play soccer. Interest and enthusiasm are the only criteria for playing.

Good Sportsmanship: We desire to create a positive environment based on mutual respect, rather than a win-at-all-costs attitude. All our programs must be designed to instill good sportsmanship in every facet of AYSO.

Player Development: We believe that all players should be able to develop their soccer skills and knowledge to the best of their abilities, both individually and as members of a team, in order to maximize their enjoyment of the game.

Know the Game!

Soccer is a simple game, but you and the players will enjoy it more if you know a few of the Laws (not “rules”) that are frequently misunderstood.

Soccer is intended to be a continuous action sport. Whenever possible, the referee will let play continue. Thus, when a player falls, and the referee judges that the player is not at immediate risk, (s)he will generally let the game proceed until a natural stoppage. Of course, the referee will stop play if a player needs immediate attention or would be endangered by continuing play.

Players cannot deliberately play the ball with their hands or arms, except for the goalkeeper within his/her own penalty-area. However, accidental contact between hands or arms and the ball occurs frequently, especially with younger players, and is not an infringement. In such cases, the referee will not stop play, since no breach of the Laws has occurred. A spectator who yells “Handball!” in such circumstances merely reveals his ignorance.

A throw-in must be taken with part of each foot on or behind the touch-line (side line) at the moment the ball is released. The ball must be thrown from behind and over the head, using both hands. This motion is sometimes difficult for young players to master, and referees in younger divisions may, at their discretion, allow retakes in order to help the players learn this skill.

Unlike basketball and gridiron football, the boundary lines are part of the field of play. The ball is not out of play until it has completely crossed the goal line or touch line. This implies that a goal is not scored unless the ball has wholly crossed the goal line between the goal posts and beneath the crossbar.

Soccer is a sport designed to give skill the advantage over force.&Nbsp;The Laws permit physical contact, but limit it to non-dangerous forms. Other kinds of contact are illegal and are penalized by the referee. Careless, reckless, or unnecessarily hard contact by a player on his opponent does not become legal simply because the ball was struck in the process. This point is frequently misunderstood by spectators and players, who exhibit their ignorance by yelling “But he got the ball, ref!”

Referees penalize only clear infringements. In fact, they are specifically instructed not to penalize doubtful or trifling breaches of the Laws. In other words, the game is supposed to “flow”, and the referee is expected to interfere only to protect the safety of the players or to ensure equity according to the Laws. The referee is explicitly given broad latitude to judge when his/her interference is needed. This is in sharp contrast with many sports popular in the United States, in which spectators expect the referee to stop play for all sorts of trifling violations. A knowledgeable spectator will understand and appreciate why, for example, a referee ignores inconsequential jostling between opponents and allows the game to precede uninterrupted.

When the referee stops the game, (s)he does not signal the reason for the stoppage. Instead, arm signals are used to indicate how the game is to be restarted. In unusual circumstances, the referee may explain a particular decision to the players. A spectator who finds the lack of explanatory signals frustrating will want to read an introduction to the game, such as AYSO’s booklet The ABCs of Soccer.

Code of Conduct

You can download the AYSO Region 45 Parents and Fans Code of Conduct here.

Area Served by our Region

Region 45 supports the principles of our National organization by providing a safe, fair and fun environment for children aged 4.5 to 18 (K-12) in the city of Mountain View and part of Los Altos.

If your child lives in Mountain View or in the service area of the Los Altos schools of Blach, Loyola, Oak, or Springer, or the Cupertino school Montclaire, Region 45 is your region. Region 43 serves the rest of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. Region 44 serves Sunnyvale and Region 26 serves Palo Alto. See below for links to their sites.

Our soccer season is in the fall, from late August into mid November. The top teams in U12 and above have an opportunity to play in a regional tournament usually held the first weekend of December.

Our registration is online so please check out our registration page if you are interested. If you are new to the area and you have questions that you could not find answered in our Web site, please email our Registrar at registrar@ayso45.org for registration questions, our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteering@ayso45.org for questions about volunteering and positions available and our Regional Commissioner at rc@ayso45.org for other questions. You can also phone our region at (650) 964-2976 (AYSO), but please note that voice mail is not checked regularly except during registration so it may take some time before someone contacts you.